Anime Festival Asia 2012

Anime Festival Asia in Singapore was held at the Singapore Expo this year, which promised more booths of interest for fans of Japanese pop culture, and required much more legwork to venture through the expansive space. Through my observations, AFA visitors have expanded beyond the South-East Asian region to include J-Pop fans from even the United States and Japan. Good job SOZO!

And now for photos, of course! For the full set of photos, head on over here.

This year’s Mirai Itasha design.

One way to sell audio products: use anime/manga.

Pokémon has its own booth this year!

Awesome uniforms there! I want one too~

Kamiyama Kenji in the flesh!

Artists Alley

This year’s Artists Alley was bigger and better. In fact, it should be Artists Alleys instead. With almost 40 (or is it over 40?) booths featuring fan-art and illustrations of almost anything pop culture (think Dragon Age, Sherlock, House…just to name a few), it’s not hard to find something that catches your attention.

Mado-car

Amuse Inc. booth

While it was to many people’s pleasure (or chagrin) that AFA 2012 has relocated to Singapore Expo, the biggest improvement in the Festival area for me was the presence of Amuse Inc. and HoriPro. After all, Japanese pop culture isn’t only about anime!

He stares…stares…

Yakitori and curry udon sold by pretty onee-sans to refuel yourselves!